Choosing the Right Paper for Your Printing Project

April 4th, 2011

April 2011

Choosing the Right Paper for Your Printing Project

Choosing the right paper affects the success or failure of your book, direct mail piece, annual report, stationery, brochure, or package design. This summary will help you make the right decision about what kind of paper to use for your printed marketing pieces.

Defining Papers by Grade

Grade refers to a category of paper, based on the paper’s primary use. It also represents a quality rating, from premium (the best), to #1, #2, #3, etc. By category, there are five basic grades of paper: bond, offset or uncoated book, coated book, text, and cover. Within each grade are other characteristics: brightness, opacity, bulk, color, finish, and fiber content.

Defining Paper by Basis Weight

Paper is also identified by basis weight. Basis weight is the weight of 500 “standard size” sheets of paper cut into a basis size. However, standard size sheets vary in size from grade to grade. Two similar sheets of various grades may have different basis weights. In addition, coated papers are compressed, so they may weigh more, but don’t feel any thicker. Bond paper usually comes in 16# for forms, 20# for copying, and 24# for stationery. Offset ranges in weight from 50# to 70#. Coated book generally comes in 30# to 70# for web presses, and 60# to 110# for sheetfed. Text paper ranges from 60# to 100#. Cover paper usually comes in 60# to 100#, with duplex cover stocks doubling these numbers.

Eye-Popping Tip: It is best to obtain a free swatch book from your paper representative before purchasing or specifying paper for your printer or designer. The swatch book will give you the opportunity to examine and feel the various sheets for finish, thickness, stiffness, opacity (translucence), and color.

Brightness

Brightness is the amount of light that the paper reflects. Brighter paper will reflect more light through a printed photograph, resulting in photos that pop off the page. Type also will be more legible on brighter paper, but a very bright paper may cause too much eyestrain in long documents (e.g., book interiors).

Visual and Printed Opacity

Visual opacity is the light-blocking properties of the paper. Hold a sheet of paper up to the light and see how much shows through. Opacity is measured as a contrast ratio. The opacity of the majority of printing papers is 80 percent to 98 percent. It increases with bulk, coating, uneven surfaces, and the use of pigments (color), fillers, and ground wood. A sheet that is more opaque makes the text more readable and causes less eyestrain. Printed opacity is how much of the ink from one side soaks through the paper. Both of these characteristics are important considerations for two-sided and folded pieces.

Bulk

Bulk describes the thickness of the paper and is defined as pages per inch, or PPI. You will need to calculate the thickness of the finished piece to design the width of the spine or binding. If you have a thin book and want a wider spine, consider using a paper with more bulk.

Color

Papers come in an enormous array of hues. Even among white paper, there is a range from cooler, blue-grey whites to warmer, creamy whites. Remember, ink is translucent so the paper color will affect the resulting ink color. Warm paper will make colors look warmer. Color photos printed on a pure white paper will result in a closer match to your original color prints.

Finish

Finish is the texture of the paper’s surface. Paper can be as smooth as chrome or as rough as particle board. Cast-coated, premium, ultra gloss and gloss finish are the shiniest finishes, generally found on coated stock. These papers have a layer of clay and other chemicals that form a smooth veneer on top of the paper.

Coated paper does not necessarily mean gloss, since a coated paper can also have a matte finish. Uncoated papers can vary from the smoothest finish (machine finish) to a slightly toothy finish (vellum, antique, and eggshell) to the embossed finishes (felt, linen, laid, ribbed, and lined finish).

Eye-Popping Tip: If you need to write on the actual printed piece (i.e., business reply cards or forms), do not select a gloss finish because the ink from a ballpoint pen will smear when used on that surface.

The more textured a paper, the more ink will soak in, causing colors and halftones (photos) to become muted and/or muddy. Special steps are taken by the designer or pre-press department to adjust for ink holdout.

In bright lighting conditions, readability is easier on a matte finish rather than a gloss finish because there is less glare coming off the paper.

Recycled Papers

Recycled papers are virtually indistinguishable from their non-recycled counterparts, with similar performance, color, cost, and availability. Recycled paper varies on the percent of post-consumer waste (recycled fiber). Contact your paper rep for specific information on recycled paper. You will find the recycled paper symbol on any recycled paper regardless of post-consumer material content.

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique graphic design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Get your copy of her free audio: Put the Bling Into Your Brand and free eCourse: 5 Deadly Design Mistakes that Could Kill a Sale and How to Avoid Them by visiting www.MacGraphics.net/freestuff.php . You can also contact her at 888-796-7300, or Karen@macgraphics.net

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2011 Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Book Awards

March 21st, 2011

My client Mike Gannon took home 3rd Place in the Inspirational and Memoir categories for his book If These Ears Could Sing at the 2011 Colorado Independent Publishers Association EVVY Book Awards banquet last night. Melanie Mulhall edited the book, Kerrie Lian designed the interior and I designed the cover. Mike Gannon and Jeri Costa flew in from Reston, Virginia to attend the banquet last night. We had a fabulous time supporting and cheering on Mike as well as Melanie, who took home a 1st Place Editing Tech Award for Called: Women Hear the Voice of the Divine by  Gretchen Kloten Minney. Congratulations to all the winners!

Me, Jeri, Mike, Melanie

www.OfficialLawOfAttraction.com

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3 Steps to Take the Heat Off Grammar Mistakes

February 27th, 2011

March 2011

3 Steps to Take the Heat Off Grammar Mistakes


This article is written by Barbara McNichol, a member of my creative team. Barbara is an expert editor and author of Word Trippers available in Kindle format at Amazon.com. She has edited numerous award-winning and best-selling books. Here’s her article:

Did you know grammatical errors are a hot topic? Yes! I learned that when a blog post about writing connected with Ezine Articles took a subject close to my heart and made it relevant to everyone.

Within 24 hours of posting an article about 6 grammatical errors that make authors look unprofessional, this blog post received 776 views and 93 comments. That’s evidence of how “hot” the topic of incorrect grammar can be!

Here’s an excerpt from the blog post:

in these days of txting, iming and all low caps, its easy to take shortcuts to writing

However, even though we now use our keyboards as we once did our phones, what most people do not understand is how unprofessional the improper use of the English language can make an article, and its author, look. Look at the sentence above again. Does it look professionally written to you?

Now, I’m not saying you need to go back to 9th grade English class and try and figure out where your participles are dangling, but making sure you have a command of the basics is essential.

The post went on to list six common errors that make authors look unprofessional. Five of them are what I call Word Trippers—a pair of similar words with different meanings and spellings that can trip people up, such as loose/lose, affect/effect, it’s/its, their/there, than/then. (The sixth addressed misuse of semicolons, something that riled writer Jeff Rubin so much, he established September 24 as National Punctuation Day.)

Among the blog comments, the most philosophic came from a subscriber named Jenny who wrote, “I am always amazed at how many who consider themselves writers make these mistakes – which are so easily avoided if one is paying attention. Personally, I think they just don’t care!”

Do People Care or Not?

As an editor who deals with these mistakes constantly in letters, articles, and manuscripts, I endorse Jenny’s observation that these problems are easily avoided. But I challenge her statement, “I think they just don’t care.” Rather, I see three factors at play here:

(1) People tend to write in a stream-of-consciousness manner, eager to get ideas down (that’s okay when drafting copy for an ezine). In this creative mode, fine-tuning isn’t the first priority.

(2) “Instant messaging” is just that! People seem to be hurrying to move on to the next thing, feeling good about “getting that done,” and prematurely declaring a written piece complete. They don’t make sure what they’ve written comes across exactly the way they wanted to say it—and that’s highly dangerous.

(3) Writers often lack the desire, discipline, or dedication to revisit their prose with a fresh eye, a clear mind, and breathing space to think it through. Essential!

Half-Baked Prose

I call the result of this propensity to write fast, move on, and never look back “half-baked.” After all, you wouldn’t eat a loaf of bread that’s half-baked. Why would you send out a written piece that isn’t fully “cooked” either?

The solution? Take time to put your writing “back in the oven” and question the key elements: the validity of the thoughts, the logical thread of persuasion, and the correct use of each word.

Yes, gremlins (e.g., incorrect grammar and punctuation) still get through. So do unclear transitions and inexact word choice. Because of these, reviewing your written piece only once simply isn’t enough.

Three Steps to Perfection

I suggest if you habitually add these simple steps, you can “bake” your piece close to perfection:

(1) Print your piece and then go to another area to read it aloud as if a 10 year old needed to understand it. You’ll recognize unclear passages quickly that way.

(2) Question each word for its meaning, spelling, and role (or is it roll?) in the sentence. Then take time to look up what you suspect isn’t correct. Don’t rely on memory alone; it can be shaky. Instead, access easy-to-use resources that will make your writing life easier.

(3) Revise, reread, revise, reread . . . until you’re satisfied.

Above all, slow down and think about your readers, be they 10 years old or 100. No one wants to eat half-baked bread, nor do they want to read partly polished prose. Flavor your writing until it’s “cooked” just right!

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Barbara McNichol edits the gremlins out of articles and professional books. She has created Word Trippers: The Ultimate Choice for Choosing the Right Word When It Really Matters as a resource that keeps writers on track. Visit www.wordtrippers.com to sign up for her free Word Tripper of the Week ezine or contact her at 520-615-7910. Better yet, you can buy her Word Trippers – 350+ of these pesky pairings—as a Kindle e-book on Amazon. Here’s the link.

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique graphic design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Get your copy of her free audio: Put the Bling Into Your Brand and free eCourse: 5 Deadly Design Mistakes that Could Kill a Sale and How to Avoid Them by visiting www.MacGraphics.net/freestuff.php . You can also contact her at 888-796-7300, or Karen@macgraphics.net

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Posted in articles, blogging, editing, ghostwriting, grammar, proofreading skills, sales copy, social media | 4 Comments »

5 Tips on Creating a Dynamic Vinyl Banner for Your Next Trade Show

January 28th, 2011

February 2011

5 Tips on Creating a Dynamic Vinyl Banner for Your Next Trade Show

Businesses that exhibit in trade shows and showcase events must have a dynamic banner to draw attendees to their booths. Here are 5 tips to creating a banner that will work for you, not against you.

  1. Think of your banner as a billboard. It needs to capture attention and be easy to read. Your message needs to be grasped quickly by trade show attendees. Keep the idea and design simple and concise.
  2. Most businesses capitalize on their brand by incorporating their logo and tag line. If you are running a special deal or offer, limit your message to only 7 words.
  3. Use your brand colors or bold, bright colors. Use high contrasting colors to increase legibility from a greater distance.
  4. Avoid patterns and busy backgrounds by using solid colors or gradients.
  5. Include your contact information –  your website and/or a phone number. You don’t need to include your street or postal address.

Banner Display

A lightweight vinyl banner is easy to transport and set up. You can use grommets spaced about one foot apart (to prevent sagging), or add pole pockets for aluminum or PCV pipes. You can purchase a lightweight, freestanding telescopic or rollup banner stand for around $100. Booths are typically 8 or 10 feet wide, so you can have a 10′ wide horizontal banner or a 6′ tall vertical banner. These are easy to transport and set up. When mounting your banner, check to see if it is viewable from a distance and doesn’t block important parts of your booth.

Banner Materials

Flexible banners come in vinyl, scrim or paper material. Eco-solvent vinyl banners resist fading caused by UV rays, are waterproof and are very durable for outside displays. They may last between 3 to 5 years when displayed outdoors, and many years when used only indoors. Eco-solvents are more ecologically friendly than solvent inks in the past. Water-based paper and scrim banners are more susceptible to fading and water damage and are mainly used for indoor trade shows. Water-based banners used to have superior graphic resolution, but now the eco-solvent banners are as good quality.

Banner Artwork

Create your banner with a professional software package in CMYK color inks, and deliver your file to a banner or sign vendor. PDF or eps files in the vector format can be enlarged to any size without degradation to the graphics. If you are using photos, (which are in the raster format) be sure to use the highest resolution possible so when they are enlarged they will still be sharp. A rule of thumb is to create a jpg, tif or Photoshop file at 1/2 or full size at 150 DPI to maintain crisp results. Keep in mind that banner printing machines work in the CMYK inks, so sometimes they may not be able to precisely match PMS inks that are often used in logo designs. Get a sample swatch of your logo printed first before making the banner.

Shown below is a banner we designed for Tuscany Valley Alpacas.

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Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique graphic design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Get your copy of her free audio: Put the Bling Into Your Brand and free eCourse: 5 Deadly Design Mistakes that Could Kill a Sale and How to Avoid Them by visiting www.MacGraphics.net/freestuff.php . You can also contact her at 888-796-7300, or Karen@macgraphics.net

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The Yellow Brick Road Map to the Book Production Process

January 1st, 2011

January 2011

The Yellow Brick Road Map to the Book Production Process

Are you publishing your first book? Congratulations! Would you like a road map to show you the steps to go from manuscript to a professional, printed book or ebook listed on Amazon?
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Over the years of designing books for independent publishers I’ve recognized first-time publishers could use a quick reference guide on time frames, tasks they are responsible for, and how to work with contractors such as editors, designers and printers.
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I created an easy-to-follow 10-page guide with checklists of action items, standard time frames, an overview of the design process, and where to obtain important items (such as ISBN and LCCN numbers) on the Internet.

This guide will help you become familiar with your role as the general contractor; what to do yourself, and when you should consider hiring a subcontractor. I also have links to important websites you need to access during the publishing process.

Learn how to save time and money, in what order to do certain tasks, what to avoid, and what you absolutely must never forget to do if you want a professional book.

For a limited time only, The Yellow Brick Road Map to the Book Publishing Process is only $10.
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You can purchase and immediately download the PDF file from my website. Just click this link:
and scroll down the page until you see this Yellow Brick Road Map graphic:
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Karen Saunders is the author of  Turn Eye Appeal into Buy Appeal: How to easily transform your marketing pieces into dazzling, persuasive sales tools! Learn more about her book and get free instant access to her eCourse: 5 Deadly Design Mistakes that Could Kill a Sale and How to Avoid Them, and audio class: 
Put the Bling Into Your Brand at www.macgraphics.net/

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Posted in Book Covers, Book Publishing, Uncategorized, book interior | No Comments »

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